Free Fun Fridays attracted 153K visitors

Wednesday

Oct 3, 2018 at 1:14 PMOct 3, 2018 at 1:14 PM

A record 100 cultural venues throughout Massachusetts attracted more than 153,000 visitors at no cost this summer during the 10th anniversary season of Free Fun Fridays, according to a press release from the sponsor, Highland Street Foundation of Newton.

As it does each year, Free Fun Fridays took place on 10 consecutive Fridays - beginning June 29 and continuing through Aug. 31 - with a record 100 venues welcoming visitors in a free-of-charge public celebration of culture and history that is unprecedented outside of the national museums in Washington, D.C.

“We know that the arts, culture, theater and scientific institutions are priorities for Massachusetts residents,” said Highland Street Foundation Executive Director Blake Jordan. “On Free Fun Fridays, our foundation and the leading cultural organizations partner to ensure that cost is no obstacle to experience these treasures of Massachusetts. We thank all of our 2018 patrons for making Free Fun Fridays a summer success.”

Since it was launched in 2009, Free Fun Fridays have drawn more than 1.3 million visitors to a range of institutions celebrating arts, culture and history that range from classical to contemporary, from the official to the off-beat.

In its 10th anniversary season, Free Fun Fridays set outstanding attendance marks at some of the state’s most popular destinations, testimony to what has become an enduring tradition for Massachusetts families.

The Franklin Park Zoo attracted 12,307 people during their Free Fun Friday, eclipsing the zoo’s average summer Friday attendance mark of approximately 2,500, the foundation's release said.

At Boston Children’s Museum, 6,348 people were admitted for free on July 6, compared to the average summer Friday attendance of 650. The Sports Museum drew 3,023 visitors on July 13, setting a record for the most well attended event in the museum’s history. On July 20, the Museum of Fine Arts admitted 8,916, nearly double the average Friday summer draw of approximately 4,500 patrons.

Over the course of the past decade, the Newton-based Highland Street Foundation, a family-directed organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for Massachusetts families, has invested $6.2 million in cultivating this game-changing summer initiative for families and the state’s cultural institutions, both small and large.

For visitors, participating institutions offered an abundance of collected treasures. Visitors viewed the Dutch Masters at the Museum of Fine Arts, traced the hunt for Moby Dick at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and learned more about early Boston at the Museum of African American History. Participating venues also included the unique collections of The Telephone Museum, in Waltham, the New England Quilt Museum, in Lowell, the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, in Brookline, and the Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History, in Weston.

This year there were free musical and dramatic performances at Jacobs Pillow, Berkshire Theatre Group, Lyric Stage Company of Boston and the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Visitors who participated in Tanglewood’s Free Fun Friday Family Festival were invited to stay for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s evening performance for free.

While the Highland Street Foundation is a family foundation, it remains focused on community. Through its diverse award programs, it strives to help individuals, as well as organizations, serving as a bridge to facilitate improved operations, expanded services or future funding.

To learn more about the “Free Fun Fridays,” and the Highland Street Foundation, visit www.highlandstreet.org.